Ayan Majumdar

The strange marriage of convenience

It is often said that politics can have strange bed-fellows – hovering on achieving the self-interests of the individuals rather than concentrating on mutual well-beings. It happens across political parties within India, across the world – it also happens across countries. Here I am referring to the marriage between USA and Pakistan.

It is true that the world dynamics have changed after 9/11; the impact of that incident has not only changed the definition of terrorism, but these changes have impacted common human lives as well. The very thought that a city or a country can be hit by the worst of the terrorist acts is a very frightening thought – it changes how we move about, it changes how we visit countries, it changes the budget for security, it changes how people suspiciously eyes his neighbours, it changes many fundamental things.

However, when everyone knows that Pakistan is unable to contain its strategy of ‘double-speak’ on getting funds and using them to stop terrorism, the world’s most powerful nation USA is still forced upon maintaining a strange relationship with Pakistan. On one hand, billions of dollars are given as aid to stop militancy; and on the other hand, everybody knows that without the aid of local military and/or government, the growth and flourishing of the same militancy is impossible. When countries like India had been pointing over years in the international forum, everybody obviously thought that was a biased opinion from a nation who is always ‘fighting’ with her neighbour.

However, the very presence of Osama Bin Laden within Pakistan, and the way he lived his life here has proved a point that India had been shouting for years. But as they say, “money is power” and hence the world’s richest nation has now woken up by putting on hold 800 million USD aid to Pakistan.

When everyone knew that some of the earlier aids were used by the same nation to allow things that were supposed to fight against with that aid, every allegation has been swept under the carpet. People looked in ways where they knew will get a rosy picture – whereas from other rooms, the stench of misuse was loud and clear. When everyone was aware that Taliban was again regrouping in Pakistan, the very mighty people preferred to look into other ways and forgot about the aid given to Pakistan which was meant to stop the Taliban from regrouping. When everyone was aware that Osama Bin Laden could not have stayed the way he lived without support from military and/or government officials, the same people even said that the government was not involved at all. When fingers are pointed out at certain officials for a recent murder of a person who was an ‘informer’ of terrorist activities, the same people thought that just by saying some tough words will solve the problem, which did not get solved in last 10 years by using the same tactics – ie strong words.

This is indeed a strange marriage of convenience. As long as USA’s objectives are selfishly met, this marriage will go on (despite some low’s and high’s) – and I felt that the correct description is provided in an article from Los Angeles Times:

My only wish and hope is that this marriage should not cause sorrows to countries like India – because if it does, then I am sure there will be no nation coming forward to lend their shoulders to the Indians who can dry their throats by crying, crying and crying …